Letting Go
by Thelchtereia
Summary: After hiding yourself behind a mask for so long, it's hard to learn to let it go. Very obvious Golden Pair implications, and some TezukaFuji.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis, any of the characters, or most of the idea. That is all copyright Takeshi Konomi-sensei, I'm merely adding my own thoughts and expanding on some of the characters for absolutely no profit or gain.

**Warnings: **Rated for yaoi implications, and one straightforward moment at the end. There are also spoilers from episodes 52 and 53.

**Author's Note:** This is my first actual finished fan fiction, and coincidently my first Prince of Tennis fan fiction. There is an implied Golden Pair relationship, as well as a Tezuka/Fuji at the end. I also don't usually write in first person, so please don't flame me u.u I'd love to know what you think though; good or bad as long as it's constructive.

It was a hot summer that year. The days were long and lazy, and the cloudless blue sky did nothing to hinder the brutal rays of the sun. Somehow, we still managed to enjoy ourselves, our love of tennis overriding our discomfort. It was during one of those extended, torturous after school tennis practices that I first started noticing the changes in my teammates.

They were small at first—glances that lasted just a moment too long, a casual pat on the back that lingered. It took a few days for the implications to set into my head, and even then I wasn't sure if I wanted to believe them.

Not that I cared what they did off of the tennis courts; it was none of my business. Some may even argue that them being together could improve their relationship as a doubles team as well, but it honestly scared me.

A few months passed, and their attentions were so painfully obvious that at times I thought Ryuzaki-sensei would say something, but she remained blissfully silent.

The day they started fighting, all my fears of the past year were realized. I can't necessarily say whether their personal relationship effected their tennis or vice-versa, but it definitely caused problems in both areas.

The loss of them as our star doubles pair was definitely a blow to the team, but watching them both suffer was ten times worse. I guess you could say I was worried about them not only as their buchou, but also as their friend.

It was never a secret that I distance myself from my team. In a way, I learned from Yamato-buchou before me that it is nearly impossible to be both a friend and a buchou, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle the situation this time. This wasn't the time for a buchou, so I decided to approach our resident tensai.

Even as I explained to him why I was looking for his help, I noticed that his smile never slipped and his true emotions were never revealed. Evidently, it was a year for realizations, for in that moment I realized how alike the two of us are. So much is expected of us, we both have these titles attached to our names that restrict who we are.

Suddenly I found myself looking at the tensai in a new light. I wanted to know him, the true Fuji Syusuke and not the mask of the tensai that he constantly wore. I knew exactly how he felt having to hide himself all the time, and seeing that made me want to give him the opportunity to have someone that he didn't have to hide around.

I suppose that I had always felt that way, only never admitted it to myself. Perhaps the way that Oishi and Kikumaru acted around each other had opened my mind, but in any case I realized my feelings at that moment. Not that it was the right time to admit them aloud, because it certainly wasn't. I had come to Fuji to get his help with repairing the Golden Pair, not to make more problems.

Knowing that Fuji and Eiji were close, I asked Fuji to speak with him and hopefully help repair our fighting doubles team. At first Fuji seemed on edge, as though hearing me ask him to do such a thing was something he never expected. I guess I can't blame him, but I would've hoped that at least Fuji would understand my distance.

Regardless, Fuji did speak with Eiji the following day at lunch and told me so after practice that afternoon. After hearing that Eiji planned to apologize soon, I allowed myself to relax and hope for the best. Then something happened that caught me completely off guard.

Just before walking out the door, Fuji turned to me and commented that it must be nice to have someone to lean on like Eiji does. How nice it must be to put your complete trust in someone and not have to worry about wearing a mask to please them. I truly wanted to believe the implications my head concocted, but unsure of what exactly he meant I simply replied that yes, it must be nice and Fuji walked out the door.

The next day, Eiji did indeed apologize to Oishi; during practice, and in front of everyone. Oishi seemed astonished but apologized as well and they laughed it off. It's so nice having things back to normal. Momoshiro also decided to make a return today, but I didn't let him go lightly.

Hopefully he'll understand soon enough what an honor it is to be a regular, and that losing his place should make him fight harder not give up.

The next few days everything seemed to slip back to normalcy, but for me they were an awkward couple of days. Fuji seemed to be avoiding me, which I wasn't quite sure I understood. I wanted to believe I did, but then again I knew that if I hoped too much without proof it would only hurt worse when I heard the truth.

At lunch I found him on the roof alone, and I wasn't sure whether to curse my luck or bless it. When he saw me he was surprised, but after the moment passed I ended up being the one who was surprised. The mask of a smile slipped from his face, his eyes opened slowly to reveal those stunning sharp blue eyes and I realized that this was the deciding moment.

He had given me a clear choice; say it now or not at all. This was the only opening I was going to get. Closing the door behind me, I walked over to where he stood and looked him straight in the eye. For the first time he merely gazed back at me, his expression blank but obviously he was waiting. It seemed as though he was willing to wait however long it took me to gather my courage, but I decided to do it quickly before I lost my nerve.

The words tumbled from my mouth without much thought, and I never looked away from him. I'm not even sure I could have if I wanted to. Just as the words left me, Fuji smiled and it was like nothing I'd seen before. It wasn't his normal mask or one that hid his emotions.

When he smiled like that, genuinely, it reached his eyes but didn't hide them. He looked so genuinely happy as he replied in that soft voice of his that he felt the same that I couldn't help but smile back. Placing my hand against the mesh of the fence next to Fuji's head, I leaned down and kissed him very, very softly. And in that moment I understood.

I knew why Eiji and Oishi went through all those troubles together; how they trusted each other so completely, why they were always so happy just to be around each other. I was learning how to let go and be myself, and the best part about it was that Fuji Syusuke was learning with me.


End file.
